Nell, William Cooper. Letter to Amy Kirby Post.

Title

Nell, William Cooper. Letter to Amy Kirby Post.

Creator

Nell, William Cooper

Contributor

Post, Amy Kirby, 1802-1889

Date

1855-11-06

Description

Handwritten letter from William Cooper Nell to Amy Kirby Post. Nell writes to Post about their mutual friends.

Subject

Post, Amy Kirby, b. 1802

Is Part Of

Isaac and Amy Post Family Papers

Rights

The organization that has made the Item available believes that the Item is in the Public Domain under the laws of the United States, but a determination was not made as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. The Item may not be in the Public Domain under the laws of other countries. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information. http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/

Identifier

1094

Location

Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester

Transcription

(Page 1)

Mr. May has Just read to me an excellent
letter from Benjamin Fish =on presentation
   of Fruit Trees for Boston Bazaar.

                                          Boston Nov 6^th1855
Kind Friend Amy

                        Louisa has given me
a graphic and pleasing account of
her sojourn at 36 Sophia St -
   Wish I could be in two places
at once = how soon would You
See my ugly phiz popping in

to [sic] that Circle So associated in
my memory with bright and
happy experiences-

   Louisa has Seen Jacob I hope
She will also have the satisfaction
of meeting my other friend Joe-

     A few days since I came across
an old file     of letters in the office
wherein      I found Asa Anthony -

(Page 2)

Henry ^Bush^ Burtis,       Elias De Garmo
John E. Robinson      and others
of Rochester         also one from
    Your Isaac Post     = Yes and my
Isaac Post too ) Sending on for
the Liberator of Mary Johnson.
                     -
Dr Boynton is delivering his
Geological Course here and I
have derived     much satisfaction
from the three I have heard
The Sparious Tremont Temple is
Crowded. - . I remember Sarah
Hallowell    speaKing of the Course,
in Rochester -
                         How sorry I am at
the news of Dorcas Collins illness
I so much      desired to Visit
the family       with       Louisa

I have Just heard from Louisa Jacobs
herself and Mother are quite well

(Page 3)

   Last Friday Eve FredK Douglass passed
me on his      way from Charles Sumners
meeting in Faneuil Hall-
              Mr. May has Just recieved [sic] a
letter from R.D. Webb . in which he
States . that    Anna Richardson
declines a Visit from Julia G
and a Cousin of his although
opposed to the American A.S Society
on Orthodox grounds , Yet desired no
association with her - You need not
let outsiders Know from whence this news
was derived - - -
                      I hope Wendell Phillips
will speak for You on the Sunday Eve
preceding his Lyceum Lecture as he is
ready to do - -        his wife though very
seldom   out of her room Yesterday Visited
Francis JacKson now dangerously ill
from a     Tumor in his stomach-
      Theodore ParKer Visited him last Sunday
and asKed him if he did not believe that
by a strong effort of will his disease might be

(Page 4)

arrested ?    Mr JacKson replied that he did not
Know but it might. but he had rather not
interfere - Mr Phillips hoped he would
endeavor to stay with us as long as possible
and that he would not be frighten
alarmed by the Doctors = He smilingly
replied . that the Doctors could not
disturb him = He has arranged his
business and is ready for the event -
which perhaps after all may not
immediately occur -
   Mr Garrison has been unwell but is now
Convalescent = The Miss Westons Father
has Just died at Weymouth =   and
Maria Weston Chapmans arrival from
Europe-is daily expected-
Sunday before last I presented Mr ParKer
with my BooK and last Sunday he reciprocated
with        his Defence = not given before the
U.S.   Courts- He is now on his
lecturing tour = Pulpit to be supplied by
Samuel Johnson of Lynn and Danl A. Wasson
of Groveland formerly an Orthodox Preacher
Tender my Kindest regards to the whole
Circle of friends =     Write soon =and
   believe me           always Yours
                          - Sincere      Friend
Sallie Holley has
promised to Sell my BooK. Wm C. Nell

Annotations

William Cooper Nell, an abolitionist and former slave, is writing from Boston to fellow activist, Amy Post. Samuel J. May was a radical reformer, who advocated for women's rights, access to education and the abolition of slavery. Benjamin Fish was woman's rights activist, Sarah Fish's husband, who was an abolitionist and a Quaker. Louisa was one of Nell's sisters. Nell refers to the Post family home at 36 Sophia Street in Rochester. Jacob and Joseph were two of Post's sons. Asa Anthony was a cousin of Susan B. Anthony and a founding member of the Rochester Anti-Slavery Society. Henry Bush and Elias De Garmo were also abolitionists. Mary Johnson was a free, African American woman living in Massachusetts, who assisted many fugitive slaves- including Frederick Douglass. Sarah Hallowell was Post's sister. Louisa Jacobs was the daughter of author and former slave, Harriet Jacobs, who wrote the slave narrative: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.

Charles Sumner was a radical abolitionist and served in the Senate during the Civil War. Robert D. Webb was an Irish publisher and abolitionist, and one of the founders of the Hibernian Anti-Slavery Association. Anna Richardson was a British abolitionist, who bought Frederick Douglass’s freedom. Julia Griffiths financially supported Douglass's newspaper, the North Star. The American Anti- Slavery Society was formed in 1833. Wendell Phillips was an abolitionist, Native American advocate and lawyer. Francis Jackson was an abolitionist from Boston, who was affiliated with several anti-slavery organizations. Maria Weston Chapman worked with her sisters in the anti-slavery movement. Theodore Parker was a Transcendentalist and a reform minister of the Unitarian Church. Samuel Johnson graduated from Harvard University and Harvard Divinity School and worked as a clergyman and abolitionist. Sallie Holley spoke on the anti-slavery lecture circuit with Susan B. Anthony, Lucy Stone and Sarah Remond.

Tags

Abolitionism; Medicine; Personal

Collection

D.93 Isaac and Amy Post Family Papers

Citation

Nell, William Cooper, “Nell, William Cooper. Letter to Amy Kirby Post.,” RBSCP Exhibits, accessed November 24, 2024, https://rbscpexhibits.lib.rochester.edu/items/show/3384.

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